Geese mate for life and when the female lays her eggs the male guards the nest. When this goose lost her mate she nested in an urn in a Buffalo, New York cemetery but, with no male to guard her, she was vulnerable to predators. A deer stepped into the breach and has taken on the role of protector of this mother goose and her soon-to-be goslings for more than a week.

The deer now spends its days near the urn acting as guardian when needed. As passersby approach the area the deer stands and places itself between the person and the nesting goose. On one occasion the deer even took a protective stance attempting to fend off a barking dog near the area of the urn.

The exact location is not being revealed to prevent the curious from disturbing this unusual domestic arrangement.

@baro: It's so interesting, isn't it? We think a story like this is amazing, but then again, why wouldn't other animals of different species bond? I mean, we bond with all kinds of animals – dogs, cats, birds, horses, you name it – and they with us, so why wouldn't it happen when you take humans (human animals) out of the equation? Still, it's always super cool to see.

@JS This has nothing to do with that. Animals of different species are known to bond, just like we too do bond with them. The deer somehow understood that his goose friend is keeping her offspring and therefore is vulnerable, just that. Just like Jason 123 says, this kind of thing might happen in the wild, but we just don't know. In the wild, there are more predators with a more favorable hunting scenario (i.e: hiding is easier), so widow geese may be more common.